this is specially for Louise who has always wanted to do it and it has just reopened.
We are also doing this train journey from Fort William The Jacobite Steam Train | West Coast Railways
2 Likes
that looks brilliant - thanks Jim
1 Like
Yes, thatās right. The UK glider altitude record of around 38000 feet was achieved there. My personal best is 14,700 so more to come!
Hereās a quick photo from one of my visits. The Dee valley with Lochs Kinord and Davan in the foreground and Morven behind.
4 Likes
Oh wow, Iāve not been in a glider for 31 years, when I was in the ATC. Think the highest I got was about 8000 ft, towed up by a Chipmunk iirc. Towed up by a clapped out yellow Landy at Burtonwood got us about 4000, unless it was really sunny, then you got really good thermals off the M62, but they needed quite tight turns to stay in themā¦
Off to Arnhem tomorrow for some battlefield touring with two of my brothers and the olāfella, gonna start with 30 corps route and then Arnhem sites by bicycle
7 Likes
An auto tow behind a landy would probably have got you to more like 700-800ā, Iād have thought - enough for a circuit and landing.
Itās a real shame that ATC gliding has all but become extinct these days.
Yes, it is quite a challenge to use thermals. You eventually develop a āsixth senseā that tells you when to tighten or broaden the turn. I donāt think anyone successfully taught anyone how to thermal. You can be taught how to fly accurately enough to achieve it and the rest you pick up by doing it.
Booked !!
1 Like
Here we go again. The second leg of the Greenwich Meridian Trail starts tomorrow.
FRIDAY: Train and tubes to Canary Wharf. Then walk to Hoddesdon. Lunch perhaps here https://larderlondon.co.uk/venues/the-larder-at-butlers-retreat/. B&B in Hoddesdon. 25 miles.
SATURDAY: Hoddesdon to Buckland (the one on the A10 in Herts). Lunch perhaps in The Star at Standon. Being met by Mrs VB in the car at Buckland (accommodation is scarce in these parts so weāll drive to The Woodman Inn at Nuthampstead). 23 miles.
SUNDAY: Buckland to Hardwick (west of Cambridge) then Mrs VB and I drive home. Might stop for lunch in Meldreth. 22 miles
After the first leg I exchanged a couple of e-mails with the organisers and they said that although they obviously havenāt spoken to everyone whoās walked the trail, as far as they know Iām the first one in its ten-year history to complete the first leg in just three days, which surprised me.
VB
5 Likes
both the star and the woodman are great placesā¦
Thatās good to hear. I picked them off the internet because The Star is on the path and The Woodman is one of the nearest beds to it in that part of the world.
VB
My Mother in Law has had a crappy last year or two, lost her Husband, daughter and son, all within 18 months of each otherā¦
Sheās never complained or moaned about it, and despite being 80, is venturing for her first holiday abroadā¦
Sheās always dreamed of going to Venice, so Iām sending her and my B-I-Law for a few days there tomorrowā¦
Wishing they have a great time! 
15 Likes
Somewhat belatedly we are arranging to go to the US for the eclipse in August. One of my brothers lives in Columbus OH and his kids will need to be back in school the next day, so we picked a spot as close as we reasonably could to there. Here it is http://www.cityofwhitehouse.com/. The ācityā appears to have no bars serving alcoholic beverages - maybe something to do with Tennesseeās dry past. However they do have
and
Both are within walking distance of the accommodation.
VB
2 Likes
Or maybe Mary?
Certainly not Paul
It might be quite funny to turn up looking like this (ā¦ lorryload of interesting cheeses ā¦).
VB
Third leg this weekend.
FRIDAY: Train, tube, train and bus to Hardwick then walk to B&B just north of Chatteris. Lunch here http://www.greenmancolne.co.uk/. 25 miles.
SATURDAY: On to Holbeach. Probably only time for a sandwich lunch from the rucksack. 28 miles - a long way for Day 2, but no choice as Sth Lincs is a B&B desert !
SUNDAY: Holbeach to Boston. Sunday lunch here http://shipinnfosdyke.com/ all being well. 19 miles. I was brought up in Boston and still have family there.
The good news is that the landscape is DEAD FLAT (hurrah !). The bad news is that the weather might be warm. So Iāll need to top up the water bottles on the way and keep a sunhat handy for the back of my head and neck. No need for face protection though, given the direction of travel 
.
VB
got a colleague that lives in Chatteris - he doesnāt paint a pretty picture. All mad turnip growers by all accounts.
Its going to be boiling - iād expect close to 30C
It appears that the only place to cross the River Welland is on the A17 so some main road trudging to do. The pub there looks nice though. Are you going cross country on footpaths after that?
Actually the path is essentially a footpath (incl very minor roads) to a small nature reserve about 1.5 miles east of the A17 Welland bridge. Then Iāll walk that 1.5 miles, heading west along the south bank of the river, cross the bridge and strike east again, turning slightly north east after a few hundred yards and up onto the old sea bank. So I shouldnāt have too much time on significant roads at all on Sunday.
Far and away the worst road experience promises to be tomorrow. Iām planning to try to cross the A14 at J28A just north of Lolworth (lol). There is in fact a gap in the central reservation Armco there, with a paved path through it. But given the weeds I can see on StreetView I suspect no-oneās made it from the verge to the central reservation for quite a while. It looks like being an exciting few seconds ā¦
VB
Danger! Danger!
Yup. I was brought up in Boston. Barley barons - themās my people.
The temperature shouldnāt be too bad tomorrow. But Saturday and Sunday look a bit fierce. The only saving grace is that there will be a bit of a westerly blowing. And, as they say, āItās a dry heatā that far east.
VB